Malala Yousufzai, 14, is now in the hands of medical experts in England. The Pakistani teen was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban last week when riding home in a school van with other classmates in the Swat Valley region, near the border with Afghanistan.

Malala was targeted by the gunmen for speaking out about girls’ rights to education. Last year when asked why she risks her life, she told CNN’s Reza Sayah, "I shall raise my voice...I have rights. I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up."

The Islamic extremists aimed to silence her defiant message, and have promised to attack her again if she survives her injuries.

Tobruk, Libya (CNN) - Like everyone else, Aisha Ahmad watched the riveting drama unfold in a Tripoli hotel as a desperate woman burst into a dining room filled with journalists, sobbing, screaming, wanting the world to know she had been raped by 15 of Moammar Gadhafi's militia men.

The arresting images of how swiftly the woman, Eman al-Obeidy, 29, and the journalists were stifled stirred viewers around the world. But perhaps none more so than Ahmad.

This was her daughter. And she was enraged.

Just weeks before, Ahmad might have wept in silence. But now, with war engulfing Libya and its future hanging in the balance, Ahmad feared Gadhafi no more.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has isolated Iran from the international community

Reza Sayah
CNN

Iran will this week celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution - a day that marked the end of the country's western-backed monarchy and the start of an Islamic republic.

Some experts say the revolution was also a catalyst for the spread of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Middle East and South Asia.

This key date in Iran's history comes amid protests by the opposition after last year's disputed presidential election won by incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The so-called Green Movement has been protesting for social justice, freedom and democracy in demonstrations throughout the country since the June polls - using slogans that are often identical to those heard during the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Editor’s Note: Saying it had completed an investigation into alleged voter irregularities, Iran's election authority on Monday stood by its findings that gave hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an overwhelming victory and sparked more than two weeks of chaos in the streets.

There was "no tangible irregularity," Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei told government-run Press TV after reporting that a recount of some 10 percent of the votes found no significant differences. "After this, the file will be closed and from today on in the presidential election, the file has been closed."

Meanwhile, today Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the death of Neda Agha-Soltan "suspicious" and urged the country's authorities to identify those responsible for it, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday. What now? We spoke with CNN's Reza Sayah, at CNN's Iran Desk in Atlanta.

1. Iran's electoral oversight group, the Guardian Council, announced today that it confirmed the election results. What now? Does opposition leader Moussavi have any recourse?

Sayah: Moussavi doesn't have any legal recourse. People will be interested to see what he does. The best he can hope for at this point is behind the scenes, lining up religious senior clerics to establish coalitions. Bottom line, the military is behind Ahmadinejad. He really doesn’t have any more options.

2. Security forces reportedly flooded the streets after that announcement on the election results came out. Is there a sense that the heavy-handed tactics are really working for the Iranian government?

Sayah: Security forces were out in full force today, everywhere. They've been the key to this. Whenever you have a conflict like this, security forces really play the key and they’re malleable. If they see more favorable interests in the powers that be, they'll side with them, in this case Ahmadinejad. If the military sees a better play with opposition, they'll head to them.

For most Iranians, in the short run, this aggressive crackdown has snuffed out these protests. In the long run, will it demoralize them, or will this crackdown further radicalize the opposition for the long run? Time till tell.

3. A woman killed in a protest a week and a half ago named Neda has very much become the face of this struggle. Today President Ahmadinejad called her death “suspicious” and requested an investigation. Will that quell any of the uproar over her death?

Sayah: Probably not. They won't be satisfied with his explanation. Government officials have offered 3 different sets of explanation for her death at this point: the CIA, protestors themselves and banned terrorist groups. People are convinced that it was members of the Basij. President Ahmadinjad had this to say in regards to Neda: "The massive propaganda of the foreign media, as well as other evidence, proves the interference of the enemies of the Iranian nation who want to take political advantage and darken the pure face of the Islamic Republic.